The teens claimed CBP targeted them because they hadn’t booked hotels for their entire stay in Hawaii.

“They found it suspicious that we hadn’t fully booked our accommodations for the entire five weeks in Hawaii,” Pohl said. “We wanted to travel spontaneously. Just like we had done in Thailand and New Zealand.”

    • Infernal_pizza@lemm.ee
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      16 days ago

      There’s a significant amount of the US population who still don’t realise how bad things are, you really expect everyone outside the US to be any better?

      • kowcop@aussie.zone
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        16 days ago

        I assure you, everyone outside of the US knows how bad the US is… the US is the laughing stock of the world right now. We get daily reminders how shit it is, how shit the economy is, how many mass shootings there were today. The world is fascinated by it, sometimes bored.

        In this case with the young travellers, they have probably had the holiday booked for ages. Some people just think it wouldn’t happen to them. These sorts of checks would seem random anyway. These sorts of things appear on near every episode of Border Patrol (in Australia) where someone is being sent home because of lack of funds to sustain their length of stay etc…

        • Yermaw@lemm.ee
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          16 days ago

          I would guess we as outsiders think it’s worse than it is, hearing only the bad stuff. We’re not hearing about great new sales at bed bath and beyond or whatever, we’re only hearing about the heavy handed deportations and human rights violations. Which is obviously bad but its easy to confuse “probably not as bad as it sounds” with “probably not actually that bad”.

          I don’t think I’m communicating the point i was trying to make very well but whatever

          • grysbok@lemmy.sdf.org
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            16 days ago

            I think you’re saying that we/I in the USA still see/have the trappings of normalcy: ads for BB&B, our Amazon packages are still delivered, we still have our treats.

            Y’all outside of the USA don’t care about our treats. Y’all’s news is showing all the human rights erosions and ignoring that I got new prescription glasses by mail just 2 business days after ordering them (what a successful and stable country this must be/s!).

            (sidenote, maybe prescription glasses aren’t treats, but I’m very excited because my prescription has changed and maybe I will stop with these eye strain headaches)

          • kowcop@aussie.zone
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            16 days ago

            Which bit are you objecting to? If you don’t believe that the US is being portrayed by every news agency (worldwide) as a dumpster fire, you are deluded

    • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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      16 days ago

      Read the article - they clearly don’t read the news, and had no idea that other Germans had already been detained.

    • RejZoR@lemmy.ml
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      16 days ago

      I wouldn’t go to USA even if you pay me. To be “mistakenly” deported to El Salvador and then they fucking “don’t know” how to get you out. Fuck no.

      I used to say this about 3rd world countries to avoid them, now USA is on that list. Imagine USA being that bad. Well, it is that bad now. When it was under Biden, I wouldn’t even think about it. With this orange baboon, no fucking chance you see me go to USA.

      • Valmond@lemmy.world
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        16 days ago

        Even before, having to be treated like cattle in their border checks for hours? No thank you.

    • Ziggurat@fedia.io
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      16 days ago

      People travel to China because there is nice stuff to see and great food to try. While US doesn’t have the great food they have the nice stuff to see and are still way better than China.

      • Darkmoon_UK@lemm.ee
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        12 days ago

        and are still way better than China

        Oh man, I have news for you. As a UK/Australian citizen I would genuinely feel much more at ease travelling to China tomorrow than the US.

        That is not a recent change either.

        The US has a very scary reputation worldwide for its psychotic police force and guns everywhere.

        I have been to China before, just as a no-fuss tourist. I detected no edge, and had a fun time.

      • RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        16 days ago

        Ngl right now id rather travel to China. If I dont do anything particularly dumb it looks good for them right now to have normal tourism working, particularly when the US is being this shit.